62 per cent of employers in better financial position than 1 year ago: Survey

CareerBuilder releases 7 trends to watch in 2014

Over the last 12 months, companies added jobs in almost every industry, and the trend is expected to continue at a steady pace throughout the New Year, according to CareerBuilder North America.

“As we begin 2014, 62 per cent of Canadian companies tell us that they are in a better financial position now than a year ago and 61 per cent of them expect sales to increase in the first half of the year,” said Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America. “As a result, we expect hiring to increase in areas that support sales such as customer service, information technology and research/development.”

The job site released seven trends to watch in 2014, based on a survey of 406 Canadian hiring managers:

STEM occupations continue to grow: The technological innovations, new products and discoveries that come from STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) occupations help fuel economic growth. As a result, these types of occupations are expected to increase with nearly two in five (38 per cent) companies planning to create jobs in these areas over the next 12 months.

Full-time hiring in 2014: Employers plan to recruit full-time, permanent employees across a variety of business functions and levels, including:

•customer service (38 per cent)
•information technology (37 per cent)
•research/development (31 per cent)
•sales (30 per cent)
•production (29 per cent)
•engineering (26 per cent)
•accounting/finance (26 per cent)
•business development (24 per cent)
•administrative (23 per cent)
•marketing (19 per cent)
•creative/design (17 per cent).

Temporary and contract hiring: Three in five (61 per cent) companies plan to hire contract or temporary workers over the next 12 months. Of these employers, 45 per cent plan to transition some temporary employees into full-time, permanent members of their staff.

Skills gap: While the growth of high-skill, specialized occupations is a positive sign for the economy, companies are struggling to keep up with the demand to fill these jobs. Nearly two in five employers said they currently have positions for which they can’t find qualified candidates. Thirty-eight per cent said these positions go unfilled for three months or longer.

Training: In light of the skills gap, 55 per cent of employers plan to train people who don’t have experience in their industry or field and hire them in 2014. Thirty-six per cent of employers are sending current employees back to school to get an advanced degree — and picking up all or part of the cost.

Recruiting in high schools: More companies are connecting with future generations of workers to establish a constant pipeline of job candidates. Thirty-six per cent of hiring managers have promoted careers at their firms to high school students or, in some cases, even younger; 31 per cent plan to do so in 2014.

Compensation increases: Compensation is becoming more competitive for specialized labour, with 33 per cent of employers planning to raise starting salaries for high-skill roles in 2014. Looking across positions within an organization, 83 per cent of employers plan to increase compensation for existing employees, while 62 per cent will offer higher starting salaries for new employees. Most increases will be three per cent or less.

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